These Things Happen
by HalfASlug
Summary: Things take an unexpected turn on Krop Tor.


_A/N: Written for the timepetals prompt 'never again' on tumblr_

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Rose wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed to land herself in her current situation.

Actually, she wasn't sure of a great many things at the minute, including - but not limited to - what day it was, which way was up and her own name.

Normally she was on top of all of these things, but her tongue was currently touching the Doctor's. And it was completely intentional. On both sides.

And it wasn't for some strange alien ritual they'd been roped into or a bizarre quirk of Time Lord and human biology they needed to exploit in order to escape their latest prison cell.

It was because she'd been worried about explaining being stranded thousands of years in the future to her mum and he'd been sympathetic and then… Well, the details weren't important when the end result was this glorious.

Her back hit the wall of the bedroom they'd been allocated on Sanctuary Base Six. His hands had made their way under her top and onto her aching skin, while her's raked through his hair, trying to sooth his raging thoughts. She doubted either were achieving what they'd set out to do. They were both still too scared and desperate for that and she was too far gone to care.

The ever-present nagging voice in the back of her head pushed for her to break away, to ask him what this meant to him, what he wanted, but she'd never paid it any attention before. You didn't end up travelling time and space in a box by pausing to think of the consequences.

"Hi, just - oh sh-sorry!"

Rose jumped away from the Doctor and saw Zach smirking at them from the doorway. Neither of them had heard it open. Had they even closed it?

As he explained something about the base's evening schedule and to give them some spare supplies he'd managed to round up, Rose tried to work out if she could tell what was going through the Doctor's head. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear anything over her own heavy breathing and thumping heart.

Eventually Zach left and Rose realised she hadn't taken in a word of what he'd said. She'd been far too focussed on the Doctor's breathing - or the incredibly frustrating lack thereof.

It wasn't fair that he could hide every emotion with his stupid physiology while she was practically announcing her every thought with her stupid breathing and hormones and traitorous reflexes.

After what could've easily been an hour of silence, she finally faced him and was surprised to see he was already staring at her. His hair was a mess and there was a shiny smudge of lip gloss around his mouth.

No matter what happened in the next few seconds, Rose knew her life would never quite be the same. Not for her, anyway.

With the door closed and the TARDIS missing, there was nowhere for either of them to run away from this tipping point in their relationship. His wide eyes were begging her to say something, but she couldn't. Now that she could ask him what he wanted, she couldn't get the words in the right order.

Or maybe she was misreading him? Maybe he needed her to give him the out he could normally produce from thin air?

Maybe she was seeing what she wanted to? Maybe she couldn't face hearing his rejection in something as solid as words?

"We should have asked if they've got any space pyjamas or something," she joked, wondering when her throat had got so dry.

She glanced at the Doctor, but looked away again, unable to stand the lost look in his eyes.

"Rose-"

"No!" she almost shouted. "Don't. Don't say it. I know-" Her voice broke and she swiped at her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she met his gaze with a determination she usually reserved for alien nutters hell bent on destroying her and tried not to think about how fitting that description was. "It'll never happen again, okay? These things happen. So just-"

The words had barely taken shape in her mind when any chance they had of being said was ruined by the Doctor hastily pressing his lips to hers. Before Rose had chance to respond, he'd pulled back and flashed her a smile as frustrating as it was vulnerable.

She waited for him to elaborate, but apparently that was all the explanation she was getting.

"But," she started with a shake of her head, "all that Time Lord curse stuff or whatever you said…"

"Rose, we're orbiting a black hole," he said as he pulled her closer. "Everything I know about the universe has flown out the window - that window to be precise," he added.

For a moment, he frowned at the window in question, his face alight with the swirling colours of the universe as it performed miracles and obliterated entire worlds.

"It's a good window," she reasoned.

He smiled at her as his arms went around her waist. "Really? I think it's a bit of a pane personally."

"I knew you were going to say that. You're so transparent."

The Doctor drew breath, not doubt to unleash a pun so awful she'd likely never recover, but she cut him off with a kiss that hardly counted as a kiss because they were both grinning so much. She was sure they would explain their behaviour later, along with various other confessions, but recklessly jumping into things was what they did. As long as they did so together, she couldn't say she minded.

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 _Thanks for reading!_


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